Under the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent, Irish women posted photographs of their underwear in all shapes, colours, and materials to protest the use of such techniques in court.

Many pointed to other countries which have tighter controls on what can be introduced in rape trials, and in what manner the jury can consider them.

After producing lacy underwear in Ireland’s national parliament, Ms Coppinger told one supporter that compulsory training should be introduced for both judges and jurors.

The controversy surrounding the trial was reminiscent of an outcry over intimate details made public in the trial of two high-profile rugby players, who were cleared of rape in Northern Ireland earlier this year. The revelations caused controversy on both sides of the border.

What happened at the protests?

Lunchtime protests calling for an end to “victim-blaming in the courts” took place in a number of Irish cities on Wednesday, organised by Socialist feminist group Rosa.

In Cork, where the trial took place, an estimated 200 people gathered to march on the courthouse and lay underwear on its steps.

In the capital, supporters gathered at the Spire of Dublin, where a “washing line” strung between lampposts displayed women’s underwear.

Other protests were set to take place in the western city of Limerick on Wednesday, and Waterford in the south-east on Friday.